A Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a college in the capital Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 20 people, according to the military.
The incident is the country’s deadliest air incident in recent memory.
CNN reported that the crash at Milestone School and College campus, in the Diabari neighbourhood of northern Dhaka, injured 171 others, quoting the Bangladesh Armed Forces.
Most of the injured are students who are being treated in hospitals in the capital, the military said.
Students were attending afternoon classes when the BAF F7 jet hit the two-storey campus around 1:18 pm local time (3:18 a.m. EST) after a mechanical fault, according to state media BSS News, citing the country’s armed forces.
The plane’s pilot made “every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location,” the military said. The pilot was among those killed, The Associated Press reported, citing regional officials.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Scores of people rushed toward the crash site, where emergency crews could be seen trying to extinguish the smoking wreckage of the jet.
The government announced a day of mourning and special prayers, BSS News said.
“I express my deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident of casualties caused by the crash,” the country’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, wrote in a post on X.
“This is a moment of profound pain for the nation. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and direct all concerned authorities, including hospitals, to address the situation with the utmost priority,” the interim leader added.
“When I was picking (up) my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind,” Masud Tarik, who is a teacher at the school, told Reuters. “I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke.”
A family member was heard saying his injured sister is a grade four student. Another family member told Channel 24 that the first batch of victims arrived at the hospital with severe burns.
“We literally saw skin being torn off,” she said.
Condolences came in from across the region with Pakistan and India’s prime ministers expressing their solidarity with Bangladesh, CNN reported. (Punch)
English